Getting Stronger
by ZellaCat
Summary: This is a Continuation\alternate ending, it takes place after the 4th book, however in this story, Numair never confessed, I mean he will, but he hasn't yet, so in the begining, they get in a fight and Daine leaves, the the animal gods find her and tell her its time to continue her training in wild magic, and they will be teaching her! its a fun new adventure!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: **This takes place after the 4th book, however it has an alternate ending. In this story, Daine and Numair never confessed thier love for each other! That happens later in this story!**

Daine yawned, this is the third time in the last 10mins, this party was dragging on forever! She knew it was to celebrate the end of the war and everything, but it was getting to the point of rediculous. She was still tired from the major battle that just ended, if she had her way, she would be sleeping right now, but King Jonathan and Queen Thayet had insisted she attend, but at least they hadn't insisted she wear one of those aweful dresses everyone else was in. Even Alanna was forced into a dress for this occasion. Numair was forced to wear his black mage robe, which he actually looked impressive in, if it weren't for the peevish look on his face, like a petulant child forced into his sunday best. She herself was wearing a robe similar to Numair's, but this one was special commisioned just for her. With her being the only wild magic mage around they had made a robe special for her, it was startlingly similar in color to the color of her wild magic when she looked into her wellspring of copper fire, she suspected Numair had a hand in that. But she had to admit she loved it. However when they gave it to her she had no idea that it was for this party. If it weren't for the fact that she loved it so much, she would have felt tricked.

Luckily for her, the party seemed to be drawing to a close, with just small chit-chat left, she was relieved that she would soon be able to go to bed! She was just edging toward the door, when she noticed that she would have to pass Numair, Alanna, and Ouna, in order to get out, and they were less than likely to let her pass without calling out to her. But she had to try. So, sticking close to the wall, she slowly edged out of the room. On her way out, she heard a snippet of conversation, it was Numair talking to a busty blond about their time in the relm of the gods.

"Yes, it was truly like nothing else. It was particularly difficult after we left Daine's mother's house. Both of our magic didn't seem to do much."

"Oh, how aweful! I bet you did most of the work, seeing how strong you are! Must have been so difficult having to protect your student as well, especially since her magic is her only good point, with her magic not working she must have dragged you down so much! But with you being so strong and all, you made it through so easily!"

"Not at all, it was by us working together that we made it out!"

Alanna soon cut in, "I thought it was Daine's mother and father that saved you, and set you on the right course."

"Well, yes-"

Ouna then but in, "And Daine's connection with Kitten that allowed you to ask the dragons for help."

"Yes, but-"

Ouna and Alanna turned to the blonde, Alanna spoke first, "It was Daine that was able to use her connection with animals to harrass the enemy armies, making them unfit for battle, giving our forces a distinct advantage!"

Ouna spoke next, "And it was Daine herself who managed to single handedly defeat the enemy Orzone, who was acting as Chaos' pawn. And it was mostly because of Daine, that some of the Stormwings decided to fight with us."

The blonde at this point was starting to back away slowly muttering,"Oh, I see, I didn't know... Well I'd best be going now..."

As soon as she was gone, Numair spoke,"I'm perfectly well aware of all that Daine has done for us. You didn't have to point it out like that, and remind me so perfectly as to how useless I was during that time."

"Oh Numair, don't get so depressed, we know you contributed alot too! She was just talking so bad about Daine, and the fact that you let it slide without rebuking her just made us mad."

"I was going to correct her..."

"Before or after?"

Numair seeming to have gotten the hint blushed red. He started looking around while looking for something to say. He happened to meet Daine's eyes as she was inching toward the exit. His eyes widened in panic as he realized she must have heard everything. Alanna and Ouna also happened to notice her nearby and both smiled at her.

"Well look, it's the devil herself, come on over here Daine!"

Daine sighed inwardly, she got caught, and to make it worse, they had just been talking about her and her role in ending the war. She herself didn't think it was such a big deal, but everyone else thought so. She went over and stood in the circle of friends, Numair still slightly red from the earlier comment, kept silent. Alanna and Ouna both proceded to compliment her on her apearence, and then went on to talk about her deeds in the war. Daine tried and failed to make her actions seem like not such a big deal. Numair, still silent decided to go get a drink. What he didn't know was that Perrin, the Clerk, had added alot of pure alcohol to the punch in hopes of getting some poor girl drunk and getting lucky. So, when Numair went to get a drink, he gulped down a big drink quickly becoming snockered. Then, he just stood there brewing, still upset over the eariler comments. While he loved a big show and all, he also knew how to give others credit. However, when reminded in such a blantant way, how useless he was... It kind of made him upset, and when he was drunk, he lacked the skill needed to keep quiet about it.

He quickly marched back over to the small group of friends. His face slightly flushed from the amount of alcohol he had in his system. As Alanna and Ouna continued to praise Daine, Numair slowly became more and more angry. Finally, he exploded in rage.

"Oh yeah?! Well she wouldn't be capable of anything without me! Both because I trained her and because of the barrier I put over her magic to keep her from going mad! She would be nothing but a WILD ANIMAL without me!"

Both Ouna and Daine gasped, Ouna looked pissed, while Daine looked on the verge of tears. Alanna just looked confused, but she knew that judging from her friends reactions, he had just crossed a HUGE line. Daine quickly ran out of the room, and after a word to Alanna, Ouna quickly followed. The phrase that Ouna passed on to Alanna told her enough.

"Knock him out."

That is precisly what Alanna did, and none too gently. Luckily, they were near the door and made a quick exit without too much drama.

Ouna had caught up to Daine as she was leaving her room with a pack over her shoulder, and her father's bow in her hands.

"Where are you going?", Ouna asked, worried.

Daine's looked very cold as she replied,"I'm going out for awhile."

"Are you sure? I'm sure he didn't mean to! He almost never drinks cause he knows he has a loose tongue when he is drunk."

"How do you know he was drunk?"

"A couple of reasons, mainly, I saw some kid spike the punch earlier, I didn't know it was that strong, or I would have stopped him. I'm gonna be honest we were kinda goading him on, to humble him a bit. I swear I had no idea he would lose it!"

"It's not your fault, but that doesn't change the fact that I need to go for awhile. I'm not taking Cloud or Kitten, so could you please keep an eye on them for me? I already explained what's going on to them already."

"Sure, if that's what you feel is best."

Daine started to walk away when she thought of something.

"If she would like to know, you can tell Alanna about it. I trust her as much as I trust you. I know she is probably a bit curious. And you guys trusted me with plenty."

"Alright, I'll let her know you said so... Be safe, okay?"

Daine smiled,"Okay. Thanks for understanding, Ouna."

With that Daine left, and headed toward the forest, once she had gone far enough in, she undressed and put her clothes into her pack, at her silent request, the magic bow given to her by her father, shrank to a size that would easily fit into her pack as well. Then, last of all she put a cap on her quiver and tied it to her pack. With all that taken care of, she quickly transformed into one of her favorite animals, the hyena. She choose that animal for its strong jaw capable of holding her pack, and for the strong legs that could take her long distances with little to no effort. Grabbing her pack in her jaws, she quickly set off.

After traveling far enough, she quickly changed back, got dressed, and proceded to set up camp. That night, some of the animal gods visited her, the badger leading them. They told her it was time to continue her training as a wild magic mage, only this time, they would be the ones training her.

**The end of chapter 1! Finally!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Daine woke that morning surrounded by many animal gods, with Badger sitting on top of her. She sat surrounded by many gods she knew and a few she didn't. On her left sat Queenclaw, the cat godess. Then, there was her old friend, Broadfoot, god of the duckmoles, in front of her were Old White and his mate Night Black, the wolf god and godess. On her right was a female marmoset, Preet, the marmoset godess, and last was one she knew she had never met but was introduced to in her dream. It was Sky, the crow godess. A good friend of Kyprioth, the trickster god.

They had discussed last night that it was time to continue her training with her wild magic, and that they would be helping her progress. Some were there because they would help with training and some were there because they were her friends, and would be there to support her. She was informed that the horse god and godess had wanted to come as well, but due to their current location, it was deemed unwise that they come.

"Hello everyone... Before we begin, may I contact Ouna so that she knows I'll be gone for awhile? And so she can tell Cloud and Kitten?"

"_Very well, you may.",_answered Badger.

"Thank you."

She pulled out her travel writing case and proceded to write a letter to Ouna.

"_Dear Ouna,_

_I hope this finds you well, I have been contacted by the animal gods. It is apperantly time to continue my training with wild magic. They have informed me that they will be my teachers this time. I need you to keep this a secret please, don't tell anyone else, they only let me tell you so you can tell Kitten and Cloud to stay put, and so that you wouldn't worry. The bird I will send with this letter will not leave until she sees you burn this letter after you read it. I will contact you every so often so you don't worry. If anything should happen to me, Badger says he will come and tell you. Should that happen, I will have the animal gods take Kitten to live with her family in the relms, and I will leave Cloud to you, I know you will take good care of her. You can tell the others I will be gone for quite awhile, but I'm afraid thats all you can say. Sorry._

_Ever yours,_

_Daine"_

With the end of her letter, she called to her a startling, asking if it would deliver the letter for her giving it a mental image of what Ouna looked like and where she would most likely be. With that information, the bird accepted the letter and quickly took off to deliver the letter. After that, Daine turned to the animal gods, and asked a simple question.

"When do we start?"

After Daine had left, Ouna set out to find Alanna and kill Numair, drunk or not, he should have known better to say that! She found Alanna attempting to carry an unconsious Numair up the stairs to his room.

"Hold on Alanna", Ouna said a plan forming,"I have a better idea."

It was probably one of the few times Alanna had seen such an evil and angry look in Ouna's eyes. Working together, they managed to drag the unconsious Numair behind the horses stable, found a chair, and tied him to it to keep him from falling out. Alanna was about to wake him up when Ouna stopped her.

"Wait, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?", Alanna asked warily.

"... First, I need to do something. Wait here."

"Okay..."

Ouna went to the field and called for Cloud. Cloud heard her and remembering Daine's instructions, went to her to see what she wanted.

"Cloud, we have a problem. You know that Daine left right?"

The horse nodded.

"Did she tell you why?"

Cloud shook her mane, meaning no.

"Would you like to find out why? I feel as her family you should know."

Flattered, the horse nodded and followed Ouna behind the stable.

Alanna saw them,"What's this?"

"Cloud is Daine's family, she deserves to be in on this, you and I both know she is smart enough to understand whats going on."

"True, you ready then?"

"No, there is two more things, first, Daine left, she was deeply hurt by what Numair said, and has decided to spend a few days away from here by herself in the forest."

"Hmmm, I see, I guess I can't blame her, I don't know what happened but, Daine looked really hurt. If she needs time then thats fine."

"And second, Daine realized that you had no idea what was going on,and she trusts you alot, so before she left, she gave me permission to tell you her story if you're interested."

"... Are you sure that she won't mind?"

"She seemed to be fine with it, I think it would be better for you to know anyway, especially for what I have in mind.", Ouna had that scary look in her eye again.

"Alright then, I would indeed like to hear her story."

So, Ouna proceded to tell Alanna Daine's story, just as she had heard it so many years ago, then proceded to tell Cloud exactly what had happened to make her leave. Near the end of the story, Numair started to regain consiousness. When he was finally awake, he looked around him, when he looked up, he saw a frightening sight. He saw Ouna and Alanna on either side of him, and in front of him, he saw a seriously pissed off horse. Shortly after taking in that scene, he remembered what had happened, and groaned.

"Someone please tell me that didn't happen, and if it did, please kill me!"

Cloud moved forward to comply with the latter request, but Ouna stopped her.

"Now now Cloud, patience, you'll get your turn, no worries, we will save all physical hits for you, but first, me and Alanna here have to make sure he will never forget this mistake he made. He knows he deserves this.", Ouna was talking to the horse, but her eyes were on the mage, with a look on her face that said, _you disgust me_.

They proceded to make his life a living hell by verbally abuseing and telling him how aweful he was, and how he had hurt Daine. By the time it was over he gladly welcomed the kick delivered by the horse, rendering him unconsious once again.

When he woke again, he was immediatly wracked with guilt, he also realized he was on the floor of his room where he had been uncerimoniously dropped with the help of a certain horse. By the time he got up, bathed, and dressed he had missed breakfast, it wasn't until he was leaving the mess hall, when he realized that everyone was staring at and whispering about him. When he went to find out what was going on, everyone avoided him. Then, later in the morning, he saw a bird fly by and sensed Daine's wild magic on it, after a closer look he saw a letter in its beak. He quickly followed, however he had to stop when the bird flew into the female's barracks. It flew to Ouna's window.

Ouna was startled to find a bird on her window sill, with a letter adressed to her in its beak. She had just come in to change her shirt after spilling juice on it this morning, when she had heard a flapping in the window and turned around to find a bird there with a letter from Daine, to her.

She gently took the letter from the bird with a word of thanks and quickly opened the letter and read its contents. When she was finished, she burned it as instructed and waved as the bird flew away. Then, she quickly marched down stairs to find Numair waiting for her, having seen the bird fly away without the letter. Suddenly she was mad at Numair all over again.

Glaring at him, she said,"I just got word from Daine, it seems she will be prolonging her time away, something urgent has come up. She said she would be fine."

Worry filled his eyes and laced his voice,"What happened? Is she okay? Does she need help?"

Seeing his worry for Daine, Ouna softened a bit,"She swore me to secrecy, so I can't say what has happened, all she wants me to say is that she will be gone for awhile, and that she will be fine. Now, I need to go tell the others."

Numair looked depressed,"I see, okay..."

After she left, Numair stood there thinking for a good long while, finally he decided, _even if she says she doesn't need help, I at least want to know where she is so I can help at a moments notice! _

He went back to his room and used the focus he had made for finding her, only to discover he couldn't! Something was blocking his magic from finding her!

**End of chapter 2!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chp 3.**

TIME SKIP! Its one year later.

"You need to focus! Pull your power from the center of your wellspring of magic! It's most concentrated there!"

"I'm trying! Its hard! I pick it up but it keeps falling back into the spring!"

"Fine, take a break, and go see Sky in 20mins."

"Okay."

Daine walked away from Broadfoot exaughsted, he had been trying to get her to pull direct magic from the strongest point in her wellspring, but it wasn't working. She wasn't even sure what the goal was, he just said focus on getting the magic out, then they would work on what to do with it.

"Daine."

Startled, Daine turned around. It was Badger calling her,"Yes? What is it?"

"We have always known you were exellent with a bow and arrow, however we feel it is time to learn another way to defend yourself, other than magic of course."

"Umm... Okay...? What do you want me to do?"

Sky flew in just then,"We want you to contact Alanna, the King's Champion, and have her teach you swordplay."

"WHAT?! But she is so busy, she IS the King's Champion, after all."

"She will be near Pirate's Swoop soon, we will travel there, and you will ask her to teach you swordplay. If she is worried about the safety of her home or family while she is training you, we can look over Pirate's Swoop while she trains you. And the journey there will give you a chance to practice your flying with Sky, the rest of us will meet you there."

"... Okay... If you think that is best. I have been wanting to practice my flying. The things Sky taught me were great!"

"Then it is settled see you in the forest outside Pirate's Swoop in 3 days."

They all vanished, all execept Sky who said,"Okay, time to start packing."

Daine smiled,"Alright."

Ahhhh... Home sweet home!",Alanna was more than happy to be home to see her family. She had been away for longer than ususal, training the Queen's Riders had taken awhile, and they had decided not to do it at Pirate's Swoop this year, but instead went to Dunlath, in order to visit Maura and the Long Lake Wolf pack in hopes that they might know where Diane had went. Numair was still beside himself with worry, with him being unable to locate her no matter what he tried, and with Ouna being sworn to secrecy, could only confirm that she was alive and doing fine.

Alanna herself was rather worried about the young wild magic mage, but with Ouna so confidently confirming she was fine, she had no choice but to believe and hope that one day she would return to them.

It was the middle of the night when Alanna got in, and by her request to the gate master, she was brought in quickly and quietly, she wanted to suprise everyone in the morning, so she decided to just sleep in the stable after taking care of her horse. When the moring light came in to wake her up, and she could hear the sounds of the rest of the fortress waking up, she decided to get up as well. She went out and decided to go wait in the kitchen for the rest of her family to wake up.

She had just sat down, when a bat flew in carring a note to her from Daine. She was so supprised, that all she could do was stare at it for a second, then quickly opened the letter.

"_Dear Alanna,_

_Hello, I hope this letter finds you well. I am hoping you will read this with the utmost discretion. I know I have been keeping Ouna sworn to secrecy and now must ask the same of you. I am currently training with some of the animal gods in order to further my abilities as a wild magic mage. However, due to a recent request from the Badger god, I must now learn swordplay, you have been requested to be my teacher by most of the animal gods here. I have been assured that if you are worried about your family, the Badger god, along with the Crow godess, will be looking out for them and your home, should you agree to train me. You will have to train with me continously, I'm afraid that you cannot travel back and forth between training and home, however we will be training near by Pirate's Swoop, that way should anything happen, you will be nearby. As I have had Ouna do, I must ask that you burn this when you are done reading. If your answer is yes, please come out to the forest in 3 days time, at night, I will find you. However, if your answer is no, then on the 3rd night, please place a torch in the middle of the lookout wall facing the beach, I will be waiting._

_I'm sorry for all the secrecy, but they insist that it is needed. Thank you._

_Sincerely,_

_Daine"_

Hmmm... So that is what she has been up to, thought Alanna as she threw the letter into the fire. Well, if its requested by the gods, even animal gods, then I think I had better go. At least she gave me time to spend with my family. Speaking of which, she thought to herself, I think I hear them now.

Finally!", cried Daine,"It felt like we have been flying forever!"

"Hardly", Sky said as she landed on a branch,"We would have gotten here sooner if you didn't have to keep stopping!"

"Well sorry! I'm still not used to flying like that.", Daine said as she put her cloak on.

"Well, at least we made good time, we are here a whole day early, we aren't expecting Alanna's answer till tomorrow night."

"That's good at least."

"Yes it is, it gives you extra time to train", said Old White behind her, she turned around and saw him standing there, with his mate Night Black beside him as always. Queenclaw came up next to them nodding in agreement. Oh great, she thought to herself, more training.

"Yes, more training, you still make too much noise going through the forest, while you are quieter than most humans, you need to be completly silent. Come on, lets practice."

"Alright, if you feel that is best then I will practice."

"First, you will go barefoot, once you can walk silently barefoot, you will use shoes. Its for the best this way."

"Okay."

Daine had learned early on that argueing was pointless, every lesson had a purpose, even if it didn't make sense at the time. This was a topic that had been brought up by the wolf pair before however, it was deemed something that could wait till later. Well, it seemed that now was the time.

By the time night fell, Daine was sore in both her legs and feet, having been forced to adjust the way she walks multiple times before she was even close to correct.

"You may rest now. You may also rest tomorrow, the rest of us have something we need to take care of before tomorrow night.", Broadfoot said as everyone else dissapeared for the night. When he was done speaking, he too vanished. The only one left was Queenclaw.

"I will be looking out for you till they get back, but I expect to be petted for my troubles."

Daine smiled,"Okay."

Daine then proceeded to lay down near the small fire they had built, and began petting Queenclaw as she fell asleep, thinking about tomorrow and the possiblity of seeing Alanna again. She slept well that night.

**The end of chapeter 3!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4!**

Daine, it's time to wake up.", Queenclaw was calling her from her dreams,"Come on, you still need to pet me!"

Smiling, Daine reached out sleepily to pet Queenclaw. Slowly opening her eyes to morning light, she sat up carfully so as not to disturb Queenclaw by her legs.

"Badger and the rest will be here soon. They finished their business early. It was also decided while you were asleep, that Old White, Night Black, and myself shall be the ones to watch over Pirate's Swoop, should Alanna agree to come help you, since we can blend in the best. We wanted Sky to help instead of the wolves, but she insisted on staying so that she could meet Alanna. Apperantly, Kyprioth, the Trickster's god talks highly of her."

"I see, that is very interesting... Can I tell her that?"

"I would wait to ask Sky that."

"Okay."

Daine proceeded to get dressed and ready for the day, as one by one the animal gods came back, all except Preet, the marmoset godess, apperantly, she had to stay behind. Once they were all gathered they called Daine over.

"Kit, we have something for you. Your father and mother both helped us to make once we told them what was going on. They wanted to be here themselves, however they are still unable to leave. So, they told us to give you their regards when we gave you this."

On the ground in front of them was a beautiful sword, the likes of which she had never seen before, it was amazing. She picked it up and looked at it in the light. Instead of being a shiny sliver like most swords, it was made of a dark grey-ish silver-like metal, the blade had a spiral vine like design on it. The hilt was pure white metal that shimmered wonderfully in the light, with a handle wrapped in some of the finest leather she had ever seen. At the bottom of the handle, there was a small jem of saphire. It seemed slightly out of place, but still quite beautiful, she stared at the sword in awe.

"The spiral was your father's idea, he said it was good luck. The saphire was your mother's idea, she said it reminded her of your eyes when you get excited and happy about something. We hope it serves you well."

With tears in her eyes, she gave each and every one of them a hug, wispering 'Thank you', over and over again. She loved the sword, and was honored they had went through the trouble of making this beautiful sword just for her.

"Does the sword have a name yet?", asked Daine smiling.

"No Kit, you may name your sword, but only after you learn to wield it properly, when Alanna says you are done training, then you can name your sword."

"Deal! Thank you all again so much, I love it."

While Daine was admiring the sword, Queenclaw pulled Badger aside and spoke quietly to him.

"Last night, that man tried to find her again. He refuses to give up. I think he is nearby in his home near Pirate's Swoop. It was close, he seems to have gotten more determined to find her. Did Alanna say anything to him?"

"No, Alanna did no such thing, he always looks for her, at least once a week, he still has that focus, and with us being so close, thats why it felt stronger than usual. Its nothing to worry about."

"I still can't believe he said what he did last year, it was no wonder she was so distraught. Who knew he could have such loose lips, and could be so stupid, when drunk. After all they had been through together, even drunk he should have known better."

"Yes your right. But, do you remember what Ouna and Alanna, along with Cloud, did to him after? He has paid for his crime, and has shone how repentant he is by constantly looking for her. We will tell her eventually, however we need to keep her focused for now."

"True. What is it, do you think, that is keeping her from grabbing the magic she needs for the last thing we have to teach her?"

"I've been thinking about that... I think it might be the very shield Numair put on her so many years ago. When she is finished with swordplay, we will tell her about him, and tell her that she needs to have him remove the shield so she can continue her training."

"Hmmm... Sounds fine with me."

Alanna walked out of the gate after saying goodbye to her family once again. They were sad she had to leave again so soon, and had asked why she had to go. She had told them that she was being called on an important mission that required the utmost secrecy. She didn't like lieing to them, however if the gods said secrecy was important, then she would do well to remember that and keep her mouth shut. Plus she wasn't overly worried, after all, she would be near by. And, while she was training Daine, her home and family would be protected by animal gods. What did she have to worry about?

Alanna walked into the forest and stopped to look around, there was no one around, so she decided to just keep walking. She knew Daine would find her. And she wasn't disapointed, after walking for about 5mins, she walked into a clearing where Daine stood waiting for her. Looking at her, Alanna was shocked, it had only been a year, but she had changed so much. She had grown an inch or two taller, and had visibly grown stronger. Her eyes had a strong and confident look to them, her unruly hair was pulled into a ponytail, and all in all she had this new air of confidence that Alanna found truly impressive.

"Well hey there! Long time no see! What's this I hear about secret training?"

Daine smiled, but before she could reply, Broadfoot spoke from behind Alanna, startling her,"That is exactly what it is, a secret. We were training her magic, however we all decided it was best for her to learn another form of physical protection, other than her bow and arrow, so we decided swordplay would be best, and when it came to a teacher, you came highly recommended."

"I'm flattered, thank you, you must be Broadfoot, Daine told me about you after her trip to the realms. You were talked very highly of."

"Thank you."

"My turn! I want to talk to her too!", Sky flew into the clearing, landing on Daine's outstretch arm. "You are quite popular with our friend Kyprioth, he speaks very highly of you."

"Kyprioth? The Trickster god? Speaks highly of me? I am truly honored!"

"Yes indeed."

Daine stepped in,"I'm sorry to interupt, but we should probably talk about details."

"Hmm indeed. While I'm here training you, what shall I tell King Jonathan? I AM the King's Champion you know."

"I said the same thing, don't worry, Badger already went to go talk to him. He is not being told what you are doing, only that the gods have need of your assistance and will be away for awhile."

"I see, that takes care of that. And you already told me that they would look after my family... Do you have a sword?"

Daine smiled,"Yes, I just got it today, from the animal gods and my parents. What do you think?"

Alanna took the blade,"Wow, this is beautiful! I would love a weapon like this!"

"Thank you! We start training tomorrow. You plan everything out. Oh, and after talking to everyone, I convinced them to let you visit your family at least once a month. Is that okay?"

"That's perfect! Thank you! Alright, lets get some sleep, we start training tomorrow."

"Okay, this way to camp."

**End of chapter 4!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Timeskip 6 months**

Your going to have to be faster than that!", yelled Alanna as she blocked yet another lunge, she pushed Daine back and attacked, Daine barely blocked in time. In the past few months of learning swordplay, she had learned quickly and soon became quite talented with a sword, she didn't learn as fast as she did with healing and controlling her magic, but once Alanna pointed out how she could protect thee animals from others with a sword, it was like she was born to handle a sword, not that Alanna would tell her that anytime soon, it was better if she didn't get cocky.

Lost in her thoughts, Alanna barely saw the strike coming, and had just managed to block it, when Daine lunged forward, against Alanna's sword, using her height to her advantage, going against the sword at a downward angle. Finally, Alanna backed off, but as she stepped back, she tripped, and fell. When she looked up, Daine stood there with her sword to Alanna's neck saying,"I win." Then she proceeded to collapse beside her, exaughsted. While she had progressed quickly, she hadn't had the time to form the endurance most sword fighters had, something she had to be careful about.

"Well done Daine. You've progressed at a phenominal rate."

"Thanks.", she said panting.

Suddenly Alanna chuckled,"Do you remember when we first met, after the Spindrens attacked? When I asked if you could use a sword? I was worried about compitition, well now, by our own hands, there is now comptition."

"Don't be silly, you and I both know you are holding back cause you don't want to kill me, I'm giving my all here... If you haden't tripped you would have won. I still don't have the indurance needed for long battles."

"Yes, well, that can be easily fixed with daily practice. You are doing remarkably well. I think your almost done. Other than your endurance, I don't have much left to teach you, the rest you will have to learn yourself through experience."

"Really?! Thats fantastic! I'm so exited, I wonder what will be next in my training with the animal gods... Speaking of which, can you help me with that project now?"

"Sure, I think your new abilitys are great. Being able to hide your magic completly, so as far as animals are concerned, your just like us, I don't know why you would want that, but the fact that you can is amazing! But I like your other one better. The one you want my help with, I find it facinating."

"Blocking my magic means that the animals don't feel the strong desire to help and protect me and the fact that animals are drawn to me is a quality only I posses, so if I wanted to go unnoticed into town or something, I could. But your right, I also think this one is slightly more interesting. Lets get started."

So Daine and Alanna sat down facing each other, just like in meditation, they relaxed for a moment, then Daine pulled magic from her wellspring, big strand of magic, and slowly and carefully, wrapped it around Alanna's body, then, with smaller strands added more to her mouth, ears, and hands. She slowly let go of her hold on the magic, and it stayed.

"Okay, I'm done, try calling an animal and talk to it."

"Okay, outloud or in my mind?"

"Well, since I only put magic around your body and not in your mind or magic, I would try out loud."

"Okay, ummm, what should I call?"

"Try a bird for now, or a bunny. How about I call the animal, and then I'll hide my magic, and let you do the talking?"

"Sounds like a good plan."

Reaching out with her magic, she found a nearby bluejay,_Will you come here please?_

"Okay its coming once it gets here, I'll hand him to you, then block my magic so he is focused on you."

They heard flapping, and in came the bluejay. It landed in Daine's outstreched hand, she said her hellos and introduced him to Alanna, then handed him to her and started blocking her magic. She looked and saw her wellspring of magic and pictured it drying up and turning into a small little puddle, then put a blanket over her welspring and just in case put a lid on it. Leaving her feel oddly empty, but thats how she always felt when she blocked it.

Alanna was having a nice conversation with the bluejay named, Flapper. He told her all sorts of things, about his family, the amount of food around, and about his mate. He had just finished talking about his mate guarding the eggs when he excused himself, saying he needed to continue hunting.

Alanna looked at Daine and smiled,"That never ceases to amazing me, is it always so much fun to talk to animals?"

"Yes, most of the time, except for rats, they don't like me, or anyone really, unless ordered by the Graveyard Hag."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Suddenly a voice from behind them said,"Yes, very good Daine, you have done well with this skill."

"Badger! Where have you been, I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Relax child, we will explain in a moment, but first; Alanna, how has she progressed in swordplay?"

"Very well, I am done with her. The rest she has to learn on her own in real battle. Just make sure she practices everyday to increase her enduranc and improve muscle memory."

"Very good, thank you Alanna. Now, Daine, I think it's okay to name your sword now."

"Really?! Ummm... What do you think Alanna? What would be a good name?"

"Oh no, I'm not nameing your sword for you, thats your job. It makes it special."

"Well what did you name your sword?"

"My sword? I named my sword Jackle."

"Wow, thats a great name...hmmmm... How about... Grace...? Yes, Grace, that sounds good, I like it."

"Grace? Yes, I think you're right. Grace will be an excellent name."

Badger spoke up once again,"Okay. Alanna, I'd like to thank you for all your hard work in training Daine. I think it is time you return home. Sky will escort you, and the other animal gods will return here to help Daine."

"Yes, alright. Thank you for all that you have done for me and my family."

Sky flew in,"Alright Alanna, its time to go. Come on."

"Okay. Goodbye Daine. Good luck.",Alanna hugged Daine tight, and she hugged back.

"Thank you. Good luck to you as well."

Daine watched as Alanna left, watching through the eyes of animals all around as she traveled through the woods and arrived safely at her home in Pirate's Swoop. Then she turned around to face the Badger.

"Okay, what now?"

"Well Daine... We think its time for you to go see Numair."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

WHAT?! Why do I have to go see Numair?",yelled Daine flabbergasted. Its not so much that she was overly angry, it still stung when she thought about what had happened that day so long ago. But she was still confused, learning swordplay from Alanna was one thing, but having to go see Numair just suprised her.

"You have to go see him to have that shield removed, we believe that it is that shield that is preventing you from continuing to your next stage of training."

Of course, she thought, it would have to be that. That of all things!

"Wait! What about the madness?! What if it comes back?!"

"It won't come back, you have significantly more control over your magic now than you did back then. And as I said before when he put it on you, the madness was just to teach you a lesson. You will be fine now. You need it to be gone so you can continue training."

"... Are you sure? Do you promise? If I do go mad do you promise to stop me?"

"Yes, if for some reason you do go mad, we all promise to help you."

"Okay, fine. I'll go."

"Now don't be mad at him, he is extremly sorry for what he said and he looks for you all the time, if it weren't for us protecting you from being found, he would have found you alot sooner. He is currently heading for his tower near Pirate's Swoop. You should fly over and wait for him there."

"He has been looking for me? Yes, you've known him for years, surely you know how bad he feels."

"Ya, I know. I guess I am still a bit upset after what happened. But, you're right, it probably has been eating him. I'll go see him and I'll set things right."

"Very good, Kit. You should fly there, you haven't had alot of practice flying since you started sword training."

"Okay."

Numair was at a loss as to what to do. He couldn't find her anywhere, no matter what he did. He would have started posting flyers had both Ouna and Alanna not convinced him it was a bad idea, but he was starting to consider it again, she had to be somewhere. He had gone around to all the ports around Tortall and made sure she hadn't left. She had to be somewhere! He wold go crazy if he couldn't find her, she came into his life like a breath of fresh air with her silly view on things and her wild magic! Then they became closer, became student and teacher as they gradually became close friends that trusted each other with their lives, he has been reminded so many times over the course of their friendship just how much she meant to him. But now she was gone and the last thing he had said to her was calling her a wild animal! She was gone and he couldn't even get a whisper as to where she could be!

Of course there was one possability that he had thought of, but he didn't want to think about what it meant if it were true. What if she had gone to go live with her parents in the Divine Realms?! He would never be able to get to her! Not without alot of help. But he wasn't likely to get that. Everyone else seemed so fine with this, almost like it was natural, or to be expected!

He got to his tower and quickly took care of his horse, Spots. Then he went inside, up to the second floor, where his scrying tools were. He would try again before he went to bed. So he pulled out his focus, and began looking for her, not expecting much but hoping for a miracle.

As he started focusing, the image of his scrying tool, imediatly began to shimmer! And he saw her sitting in a dark room barly lit by a single candle, she seemed to be waiting for someone. He was so suprised he almost lost focus, but after getting over it quickly, he immediatly began taking in details that could hint as to where she was, that room... It looked exactly like his library on the thrid floor of this very tower! Standing up so fast he knocked his chair over, he quickly climbed the steps bursting through the door.

Sure enough right there waiting for him was the very girl plauging his thoughts for over a year sitting in his armchair, looking up at him as he came in, she smiled. Then suddenly he was suspious, after looking for her for so long she suddenly appears in his very own home?! He looked over her with his magic, sure enough she had no wild magic. Growing angry and cautious at the same time, he looked over her again, it was a very good illusion.

"What do you want?! Why are you here?!"

Clearly not the reaction she was anticipating, she raised and eyebrow, did he really not recognize her? The Badger had made it seem as though her presence would be a bit better receaved.

"Don't you recognize me?"

"I know who you look like, but you can't be her, you don't have her magic! So, who are you and why are you here?!"

He would have already used his magic to force the answers out, but remembering the time in the Divine Realms, that Gabriel the dream god had disgused himself as an old friend of Daine's so as not to alarm her while he brought her information, so he stayed his hand,but was more than prepared to attack should it try anything.

"Oh! My magic! Hold on!"

Then, like a wave, he felt the familiar wild magic wash over him as she let it out of whatever confines she had put it in. It really was her! No one else had that much excess wild magic! As those thoughts went through his head, he was already walking across the room to envelope her in a big bear hug.

"Thank the Gods its really you! I've missed you sooo much, Magelet! I'm so sorry for everything that I said that night! Please forgive me!"

This was the reaction she was expecting, she thought with a smile.

"Its fine, I was mad at first, but thats not why I stayed away, I promise. I have been working with the animal gods. Its a very secret matter, which is why I've only been able to tell certain people."

Finally taking a small step back to get a good look at her, he realizes she has changed, she is taller, stronger too, she was also wearing a sword. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the sword.

"When did you start carrying a sword?"

"Since the animal gods said to learn and Alanna taught me, we just finished training before the animal gods told me to come here."

"Why did they tell you to come here?"

"They think that the reason I can't progress to the next stage of my training is because of the barrier you put over me and my magic so long ago."

At the mention of the barrier, Numair once again turned red with shame over what he said and did that day.

"I'm SO sorry!"

Daine sighed,"Relax, its not a big deal. I'm not mad and Ouna told me that night that you were drunk, its fine. Right now, I just need it off so I can continue training."

"...Okay."

He moved behind her and put his fingers to her temple and through their connection, told her to look inside, he saw the well spring as he had so many years ago, but it was different, calmer and stronger than before. He could still see the barrier he put around her, and began removing it. Once it was gone he let go of her.

"There its gone."

She turned and smiled up at him,"Thank you. I wish I could stay and catch up but the animal gods are waiting for me."

"You're leaving already?!", he sounded both panicked and forlorn.

She looked back at him,"I have to go, the animal gods are calling."

She stepped toward the window, removing the cloke she was wearing to reveal two big holes in the back of her shirt. Numair noticed them and stared at them curiously, before realizing she was heading for the window.

"Wait, you can leave through the door you know, that way your stuff doesn't drop."

"Don't worry about that."

And before Numair could stop her, she braced herself in the window, facing the room. Then focusing her magic like the animal gods had taught her, she thought of eagles and their strong wings, then focused her magic to her back. And immediatly, a pair of large wings grew from her back as she bushed herself backwards and into the air, she then quickly rose in the air and with a final wave to Numair, she flew away. Leaving Numair staring after her with his mouth agape.


End file.
